Few individuals shaped Corvette history more profoundly than Zora Arkus-Duntov. Joining Chevrolet in 1953, the gifted engineer and racing driver immediately recognized the Corvette’s competition potential. He championed Chevrolet’s small-block V-8 for 1955 and subsequently developed increasingly sophisticated racing machines, including the SR1, SR2, and Corvette SS.
Despite General Motors’ withdrawal from factory racing, Arkus-Duntov remained convinced the Corvette could defeat the world’s best sports cars. The all-new 1963 Sting Ray provided his opportunity. Although the Z06 performance package challenged Carroll Shelby’s Cobra, the lighter Cobra exposed the Corvette’s greatest weakness: weight.
With quiet encouragement from Chevrolet General Manager S.E. “Bunkie” Knudsen, Arkus-Duntov created the Grand Sport, an uncompromising lightweight competition Corvette. Only five were built.
Virtually every component was redesigned. A lightweight tubular frame, aluminum bracing and components, Girling disc brakes, competition suspension, Halibrand magnesium wheels, and an ultra-lightweight fiberglass body reduced weight from approximately 3,200 pounds to roughly 1,900. Combined with enormous V-8 power, the Grand Sport became precisely what Arkus-Duntov envisioned: a Corvette capable of defeating the Cobra.
GRAND SPORT EMERGES
Private testing at Sebring in late 1962 exposed the secret project, infuriating GM Chairman Frederic Donner, who ordered it terminated. Arkus-Duntov nevertheless continued developing the five cars through unofficial channels. Chassis 003 and 004 became the first completed coupes. Chassis 003 was entrusted to Dick Doane, proprietor of Doane Chevrolet, advertised as the “World’s Best Known Corvette Dealer.” Between July and November 1963, Doane entered 003 in eight SCCA events, scoring class victories at Wilmot and Greenwood and leading the Road America 500 outright for 93 laps before engine failure.
At Road America, Doane punched eight cooling holes beneath the taillights to combat rising temperatures. The solution proved so effective that every remaining Grand Sport adopted the modification.
By autumn, chassis 003, 004, and 005 were prepared for Bahamas Speed Week. Arkus-Duntov partnered with John Mecom Jr., whose formidable racing organization would carry Chevrolet’s unofficial challenge directly to Shelby.
BAHAMA BREEZE
The Grand Sports caused a sensation at Nassau in December 1963. Wider wheels and tires, flared fenders, additional cooling vents, and functional aerodynamic modifications transformed the cars. Most importantly, all-aluminum 377-cubic-inch V-8s with four Weber 58 DCOE carburetors delivered extraordinary power.
Jim Hall qualified chassis 003 third overall for the Tourist Trophy, although differential overheating afflicted all three cars. Engineers responded overnight with an external differential oil cooler, permanently solving the problem.
Augie Pabst then drove 003 to fourth overall in the Governor’s Cup. In the 252-mile Nassau Trophy, John Cannon finished second in class and eighth overall, while Dick Thompson won the class in chassis 005. The Grand Sports comprehensively outperformed Shelby’s Cobras, earning their enduring nickname: “Snake Eaters.”
GM leadership nevertheless reaffirmed its racing prohibition, forcing the program into private hands.
SEBRING AND THE PRIVATEER YEARS
At the 1964 12 Hours of Sebring, chassis 003 carried race number 2 for John Mecom’s team, driven by John Cannon and A.J. Foyt. Mechanical problems left it 62nd on the 66-car grid, but Foyt passed approximately 50 competitors on the opening lap. The Corvette climbed as high as eighth overall before a worn axle spline caused a lengthy delay.
Cannon and Foyt recovered to finish 23rd overall and second in class. Later that year, Jack Saunders earned second in class at Houston and third in class at Nassau.
RUNNING WITH THE PRIVATEERS
In January 1965, 19-year-old Alan Sevadjian acquired chassis 003, with his father Ed driving and Delmo Johnson preparing the car. Arkus-Duntov supplied a 427-cubic-inch Chevrolet big-block for another Sebring campaign.
Entered by Ridgeway Racing and driven by Johnson, Sevadjian, and Dave Morgan, 003 finished third in class at the 1965 Sebring 12 Hours. Johnson later described its performance: “Brute horsepower. It was like a dragster—the only car I ever drove that would lift the front wheels off the ground in all four gears.”
After additional SCCA competition, chassis 003 passed through several careful owners. Its relatively limited later use preserved its original tubular structure, lightweight body, and numerous irreplaceable factory components. Robert Paterson acquired it in 1975 and restored its 1963 Mecom Racing blue livery. Tom Armstrong purchased it in 1989, earning major Bloomington Gold and NCRS honors while continuing to exercise the car in historic competition.
CALIFORNIA STEWARDSHIP
Acquired by its current caretaker in 2003, chassis 003 underwent an extraordinary restoration by Terry Scarborough Racing. More than four years, 4,000 labor hours, and nearly $1 million were devoted to returning the car to its 1964 Sebring specification while preserving original components wherever possible.
Its exceptional originality provided a remarkable foundation: the tubular chassis and lightweight fiberglass body remained fundamentally intact, while the dashboard and seats were believed original.
A new all-aluminum 377-cubic-inch V-8 built by Ted Yamashiro of Techcraft was installed, breathing through four original Weber 58 DCOE carburetors and an original aluminum cross-ram intake. Producing an estimated 600-plus horsepower and 600-plus pound-feet of torque, it is paired with an M21 transmission upgraded internally to M22 close-ratio specifications.
A LEGEND PRESERVED
Following restoration, chassis 003 returned to major concours and historic racing events, including The Quail, Goodwood Festival of Speed, Sonoma Motorsports Festival, and Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion.
At Laguna Seca in 2023, it participated in General Motors’ Corvette 70th-anniversary celebration. Returning in 2024, it was recognized as the “Best Corvette to Ever Race at Laguna Seca.” That year it also starred in a feature film presented by Sebring and Daytona winner Johannes van Overbeek, capturing the Grand Sport performing as Arkus-Duntov intended.
THE ULTIMATE AMERICAN COMPETITION CORVETTE
One of only five Grand Sports and three coupes, chassis 003 ranks among the most significant competition Corvettes ever created. Driven by A.J. Foyt, Jim Hall, Augie Pabst, John Cannon, Dick Doane, Delmo Johnson, Jack Saunders, and others, it earned SCCA victories, starred at Nassau, and achieved podium-class finishes at Sebring in 1964 and 1965.
More importantly, it embodies Arkus-Duntov’s uncompromising vision. Conceived despite corporate resistance and engineered to defeat the Cobra, the Grand Sport transformed Corvette into a genuine international racing contender and established a competition lineage that continues today.
Rarer than the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe and Ferrari 250 GTO, chassis 003 remains an exceptionally original, extensively documented survivor. More than 60 years after Arkus-Duntov pursued his audacious dream, it stands as one of the most important American competition cars ever offered for public sale.
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Above contents © 2026 RM Sotheby’s
reviewed and edited by Rex McAfee , @rexmcafee 🏁
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